Rusałka is a slavic female demon usually appearing around lakes, ponds or rivers. She deceives men and drowns them. I wanted to show her as a dead corpse that uses a charm, so that she looks like a pretty woman when out of the water.

I've had some voices wondering about the swastikas on the rims of the guys shirt. So to make it clear. I have no connotations with any extreme right wing parties nor do I keep any nazi or racist oriented beliefs. Swastika has been used for hundreds of years in Poland, before Hitler stole it and spoilt it for everyone. The action of the image takes place in 9th or 10th century.If you want to know more about swastikas just wiki it. There is a really broad and interesting article written about it.

I've read about rusalkas before now. Some stories paint her as the ghost of a girl who had committed suicide by drowning or had been murdered. Her restless and unhappy spirit turns her into a vampiric creature that gains a kind of fake life for herself by absorbing life from everything around her. One of the so-called signs of a rusalka is that everything around the water where she died is dead. There are no living plants, trees, animals or even moss. This gives her enough life to leave her watery habitat in a limited radius. If she encounters a human being (usually male), she enchants him and slowly leeches away his life essence. At this point, she gets strong enough to travel miles away from the place where she died and seek out other victims instead of waiting for them to stumble upon her. Villagers who know this post signs warning travelers away from her spot and, without human sustenance, her life force wanes to the point where she is trapped in her watery grave. She never dies completely (because she's already dead) but she can be neutralized and rendered harmless to human life with the proper precautions. I really like your rendition here, one that succinctly captures the deceptive nature of this dangerous water demon.

im in love with your work there are lots of heathen male figures in the art.... I cant wait to see what you would do with female heathen figures. The warrior pose seems to get very worn out as well, and the sheild maiden thing ( im not a fan) Its nice to see farmers and real people. A lady of the house carrying her keys etc... I hope you hear this bit of positive criticism because id really enjoy seeing more

The myth of the Rusalka was a favorite when I was a child, although always really spooky. I like the way that you split the canvas above the middle of the canvas and divided the world in half at the water line. This is fabulously well done, as well as haunting, and likely a good cautionary tale beside. Excellent work.